booktalesy Chapter 44 Seeking Justice
Chapter 44 Seeking Justice
"No...it's impossible, how could there be so many?" Wang Guifen's face turned pale, and her lips trembled.
Zhang Dezhong's mind went blank for a moment before he remembered Zhang Beichuan's smiling face when he made the suggestion.
It turns out that the smile didn't hide foolishness, but a knife!
"You...you deliberately dug a pit for us to fall into!" He pointed at Zhang Beichuan, his finger trembling.
Zhang Beichuan opened his eyes, his gaze calm.
"Brother, you were the ones who wanted to draw up the agreement, and you put your fingerprints on it yourselves. Nobody forced you. The whole village is a witness, and the village committee stamped it. Now you want to renege on your debt?"
Zhang Dezhong was speechless, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
The villagers who had been watching gradually came to their senses, and a buzz of discussion arose.
"My God, 1 cent a day, doubling every day, the amount over 20 days is terrifying!"
"Dezhong is in deep trouble now. Where is he going to get a thousand yuan?"
Some people whispered, "When Ogawa first mentioned it, I felt something was off. There's no way it could be so easy..."
Zhang Dezhong's face grew increasingly grim. A thousand yuan—even if he sold his entire family, he couldn't scrape together that much money!
He suddenly turned his head and glared at Zhang Dequan and Lan Xiuying, pointing at them.
"Third brother! Did you all know all along? Did you conspire to trick us?!"
Zhang Dequan was also quite frightened by the amount, and when he heard his elder brother say this, he was both anxious and angry.
"Brother, what nonsense are you talking about! We only found out now!"
Looking at her older brother and the others' exasperated expressions, Lan Xiuying felt a faint sense of pleasure.
"You were the ones who insisted on signing the agreement and putting your fingerprints on it; we didn't even want to sign it at first, and everyone can testify to that. If you have someone to blame, blame your own insatiable greed!"
Wang Guifen suddenly sat down on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing.
"This is outrageous! Brothers betraying each other! A thousand yuan! This is trying to kill our whole family!"
While crying, she secretly glanced at the expressions of those around her, hoping to evoke their sympathy and get them to say something kind to her.
But everyone knows the cause and effect of this matter.
Zhang Dezhong and his wife were the ones who were in a hurry to draw up a written agreement. They tried to take advantage of the situation but failed, and ended up jumping into a fire pit. Who can they blame for this?
Zhang Beichuan glanced at the unmoved villagers and said calmly.
"Sister-in-law, you can cry all you want tonight. But the money has to be given today. I've changed my mind; not a penny less!"
Zhang Dezhong glared at his wife, thinking, "Damn it, she really knows how to bring up the wrong thing." He said urgently.
"Youngest brother, we're brothers, are you really going to be this cruel? Over a thousand yuan, where am I supposed to get that from? This is practically killing our whole family!"
"Brothers?" Zhang Beichuan chuckled. "Big brother, how did you force Third Brother's family to accept the division of the family property last year? You didn't consider any brotherly affection back then!"
Upon hearing this, many villagers around nodded in agreement.
Zhang Dezhong was choked speechless, his face turning a deep purplish-red.
Seeing this situation, Zhao Weidong cleared his throat and went out to smooth things over.
"Dezhong, the written agreement is here, and the accounts are indeed correct." He then looked at Zhang Beichuan, "I think... you brothers should discuss whether you can postpone this or come up with a compromise."
As the team leader and a witness, he naturally hoped things wouldn't escalate too much, lest everyone lose face.
Zhang Dezhong immediately grasped at a straw and said something.
"Yes, yes, youngest brother, Captain Zhao is right. No matter what, we're brothers, even if we're broken, we're still connected. Please, be magnanimous and let us off this time, okay?"
"Captain Zhao, there's no time to delay this." Zhang Beichuan said, glancing at Zhang Dezhong.
"Back then, my brother patted his chest and said, 'A real man keeps his word.' Only twenty days have passed, and he's already trying to renege on his promise? I'm afraid things might get complicated!"
Wang Guifen looked at the aggressive Zhang Beichuan, and remembering how he had ruined her plans earlier, she pointed her finger at him and started cursing.
"You bastard! Even if we were in the wrong first, you can't just ruin our family like this! Let me tell you, we have no money, but you can take our lives!"
Zhang Beichuan's eyes grew colder as he looked at her with a half-smile.
"You only have two choices now. Either pay me back immediately, or we'll take you to court!"
"Oh, right, let me remind you, brother and sister-in-law. If you insist on taking me to court, and end up with a reputation for being a deadbeat and ruining Jianhong's future, don't blame me."
Upon hearing the words "going to court," Zhang Dezhong trembled all over, and the addition of the words "debt defaulter" made his legs shake like a leaf.
If this kind of economic dispute were to go to court, he would already be in the wrong.
If family matters cause problems with Jianhong's political background check, who will be taking the college entrance exam next year, it would be a real shame.
All his efforts over the years would have been for nothing.
Hearing what the youngest son said, Zhang Dequan, who was standing to the side, thought to himself that the older generation's affairs should not involve the younger generation, and was about to go forward to give him some advice.
The next second, Lan Xiuying blocked her way. She knew what the head of the family was thinking, but her elder brother and his family had really gone too far over the years!
Zhang Beichuan took in everything his grandparents did.
Looking at the villagers pointing and whispering around him, and then at Zhang Beichuan's cold gaze, Zhang Dezhong finally realized that he was truly doomed this time.
He forced out a few words through gritted teeth, "I'll give it to you."
"Master!" Wang Guifen screamed.
"Shut up!" Zhang Dezhong roared, as if all his strength had been drained away. He slumped down and said, "We don't have that much cash at home... only about three hundred yuan. Could you give me a few more days? I'll sell everything I own to scrape together the money!"
"No, twenty days is twenty days! My sister-in-law just didn't want to admit it, and I'm afraid you'll try to renege on it later."
Hearing Zhang Beichuan's harsh tone, Zhang Dezhong was both anxious and angry, and turned around to glare fiercely at Wang Guifen.
But he only has about three hundred yuan on hand right now. The only way to make up the rest is to sell the rice he just harvested and borrow some more money, but all of this will take time.
Despite the loss of face, Zhang Dezhong still gritted his teeth and spoke up for the sake of his most promising son's future.
"Youngest brother, in front of so many people, I promise I won't go back on my word. Please give me a few days."
Zhang Beichuan glanced at his grandfather, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, and paused.
"I can give you a few days' grace, but you have to apologize to Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law in front of everyone. If you are sincere enough, I can consider it."
Zhang Dezhong turned to look at the third brother, admitting his mistake in front of so many people for the first time.
"Third brother and sister-in-law, it was our fault as the eldest brother and sister-in-law before. We didn't teach the children well, and we didn't fulfill our duties as the eldest brother."
Zhang Dezhong looked at the silent third brother, then turned to look at Lan Xiuying.
"Sister-in-law, I'm begging you. The youngest brother has always been closest to the third brother. Could you please persuade him to say something?"
Hearing this, the resentment that had been weighing on Lan Xiuying's heart for so long completely dissipated; all she wanted was justice.
Today, her brother-in-law got justice for her in front of so many people.
With the idea of being forgiving when possible, she shook Zhang Dequan's arm, who was still in a daze.
Coming to his senses, Zhang Dequan looked at his elder brother's humble demeanor. Although the resentment in his heart had subsided, he still felt uneasy. He nodded to Zhang Beichuan and turned to leave.
"Alright, since my third brother and sister-in-law are vouching for you, then for their sake, I'll give you a week to raise the remaining money."
Afterwards, Zhang Beichuan got 348.57, glanced at Zhang Dezhong who was squatting on the threshold, holding his head and not saying a word, and then turned around and chased after him.
The remaining villagers were gossiping behind their backs.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this time the Dezhong family is going to be completely drained..."
"Serves them right for bullying Dequan's family back then! This is karma!"
"That kid Xiaochuan looks so gentle, but he's really ruthless. He's like a monster who eats people without spitting out the bones."
"That's not how it works. Zhang Dezhong drew up the agreement himself. He tried to take advantage but failed, so who can he blame?"